Dwight Okita
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Dwight Holden Okita (born August 26, 1958) is a
Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in ranking to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...
novelist, poet, and playwright. His work reflects his experiences as a third-generation Japanese-American (
sansei is a Japanese and North American English term used in parts of the world (mainly in South America and North America) to refer to the children of children born to ethnically Japanese emigrants (''Issei'') in a new country of residence, outside o ...
), a gay man, and a
Nichiren Buddhist Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as ''Hokkeshū'' (, meaning ''Lotus Sect''), is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period schools ...
. He studied English literature at the
University of Illinois, Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...
. His first book of poems, ''Crossing with the Light'', was published in 1992, and nominated for Best Asian Literature Book of 1993. His plays include ''Salad Bowl Dance'', commissioned in 1993 by the
Chicago Historical Society Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the ...
; ''Richard Speck'', commissioned in 1991 by the American Blues Theater; and ''The Rainy Season'', produced in 1993. His novels include ''The Hope Store'' (2017) and THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL (2011) which was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. He won a
Joseph Jefferson Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater st ...
in 1996 for the collaborative play ''The Radiance of a Thousand Suns,'' which he wrote with Anne McGravie, Nicholas Patricca, and David Zak.


References


External links


The Dwight Okita website
American male poets American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights American dramatists and playwrights American dramatists and playwrights of Japanese descent American novelists of Asian descent American poets of Asian descent American gay writers American LGBTQ poets American LGBTQ novelists American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Living people American LGBTQ people of Asian descent 1958 births 21st-century American LGBTQ people Gay poets {{US-playwright-stub